The elderberry copter thread #4, for all your hand holding, sausage wanging and burger toning. Entrance criteria: ttc#1 for >12mths, prev berry experience preferable but not essential

[BlindKitty]

New home, as requested!

OMG merk I am beside myself with excitement! Hopefully obem with have some normal people on there this time not all giving birth on their backs. Who's guessing it'll be a load of chavs trying to push buses up hills?!

sid good luck telling the family! They're going to be made up! My dad actually cried! Sadly I think he thought he'd never be a grandad as he thought we didn't want kids it took us so long

Man I could murder a cup of tea and I'm even hungrier than usual!! Arrrggh!

I used to watch OBEM while ttc and feel amazed at how strongly I yearned to be one of those women screaming in agony. Not entirely sure I will watch this series though - seems a bit too close to home just now!

sid bunny jess, when I joined the grads they were all at 20/30 weeks, it was really scary for me and I felt a bit lost. But it has actually been a huge help as I knew more of what to expect in the near future, also when your LOs arrive you will have lots of people to help you with all the things you think are daft questions and wouldnt ask in rl. It really helped prepare me.

There will always be advice available for you and more often than not someone will have done or felt the same themselves not so long ago.

jess I'm going to series link them all haha. I'm weirdly obsessed with it all atm!

Just found out that I can't donate my babies cord blood because of the trigger shot I had from the iui! I used to work with patients with leukaemia, lymphomas, etc so it was quite important to me

One very wriggly foetus! Feels a bit weird to know there is someone doing somersaults inside me but it's so lovely to know there's a real live baby on its way! New due date of 29 August. Nuchal is 2.1 which I think is normal at 12+5 - just need to wait for blood results now!

Kitty, that's a shame about the cord blood - what is the shot you had?

Congrats Jess, great news

Thunder have you packed a hospital bag yet?

Hooray jess!! Congrats!

merk a hospital bag? Wouldnt that require me to come to terms with the fact there might be a real baby coming??!
Seriously though, no I haven't but I have been given a list by a firm friend of mine for the basics and have a few bits put into a drawer so far. Have you?
We're doing birth plan at my mw appt on mon (36+4). Yikes.

I've not packed one either. Too lazy!

Oo merk aren't you thinking you might go early tho?
Have you done birth plan?

Re grads thread vs copter- I don't think it matters what it's called as long as people are happy. I was really happy to stay in the copter because I don't know the other grads- I joined the berries after most of them had left. (As well as my denial and absolute fear that it was is all going to go wrong again). But I know and love all of you lot- including those who are soon to join us, so for me it's more about the lovely people than the stages of pregnancy really.

No, it currently looks as though baby can't drop, and so she will be hanging around for a while. I'm not going to write a birth plan I don't think. Instead am making sure DH and I are clear on what we want but will go with the flow. I'm a bit convinced I will end up with a section at the mo feeling quite negative

Are you still worried about her size, merk?
My bump has proper ballooned in the last few days.
Have you mentioned that she's a big'un to your mw?

Going with the flow sounds like our approach too. Although there are some things that I now know you have to request otherwise you get a particular treatment- so I'll be staying my views on that in my plan.

jess Congratulations on your scan! Officially in the copter now

Re: hospital bag - don't have one packed (31 wks) but do have a list. Top tip from a friend was to take Trivial Pursuit questions in as a non-demanding way to pass the time and something for DH to do.

Off for another scan and a checkup this afternoon. Will be interesting to see if she's changed position. Feels a bit like she's sideways on at the moment, with all the extra kicking I'm getting in the side.

also loving this thread on best tips for first newborns (though probably a bit scary for newbies/those still in denial)
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/pregnancy/1996601-Top-newborn-tips

My midwives are crap not great,
we're not really in tune. They're of the opinion that the baby will magically appear in my pelvis in the correct position. After all my reading and the specialists I've seen, I'm of the opinion that lots of babies don't, hence interventions, long labours, c sections etc, and that presentation AND position are of the utmost importance. I'm trying not to stress that the midwives don't seem to care about this at all but hoping I win the lottery and can go private instead

And therefore her size doesn't seem quite so important at the mo

Either I'm having BH or I'm about to get AF v crampy

Hmm I think I am being too naive in the probably vain hope that baby will appear in my pelvis too. merk what do you think I should do? Would you recommend a scan/visit to chiro to become better informed? The only active thing I'm doing is sitting in/using postures that encourage baby not to be back to back.

poppy hope the scan goes well

The majority of babies do get themselves into the right position Thunder so I wouldn't worry. But once I knew mine wasn't able to get there on her own it was silly for me to not do anything about it. If you're not having pain and if you're getting BH then I think those signs point that everything is hunky dory as I understand it

Some interesting reading if you're bored
ignore this is about plus size pregnancy as the article is v good

doulamomma.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/optimal-fetal-positioning-for-a-better-birth/

naturalbirthinkitsap.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/ofp-part-4-putting-optimal-fetal.html?m=1

Oh thank you merk I will have a look later- I think the optimal positioning might be similar advice to the avoiding back to back advice but it's all worth considering.

Am annoyed on your behalf about the response you're getting from mws. You're telling them that physiologically your baby cannot drop into your pelvis and they're ignoring you?? Not good.

Oh and cramps- I'm getting dull af-like aches and then occasionally what I assume are BH - when my bump goes taught and solid. Those don't hurt though.

thunder those sound like my BH - everything goes rigid, and it's not painful but is uncomfortable.

merk sorry you're struggling with mws Hope things sort themselves out, or you get some better advice.

On birth plans, my OB today suggested that a birth plan wasn't essential, but having thought a few things through, and being able to be flexible was the best approach.

Scan went well - fortunately she is already head down, spine to my left side. Hoping she stays there! According to measurements, she's already 4lbs 4oz . Just 9 weeks to go... Got some nice pics of her little face too

jess fab scan news! It's so reassuring isn't it? I really started to relax from 12 weeks and started to enjoy my pregnancy so hopefully you will too.
The trigger shot was hcg to make me ovulate. No idea why that means I can't donate. It's like I'm in the 'have abused drugs category'!

thunder ah your enough to make a pregnant woman cry! . I do feel the same though. Panicked the other day that we won't have this once our babies come!

merk know we alll mostly want natural births but 2 of my friends have recently had c sections and are recovering really well so maybe it's not the end of the world if we do need them?

poppy what were the other things you need to specify on the birth plan? How did the scan go? Was it a private scan?

Thanks for the sickness sympathies, it is getting a little boring now!

Not sure I can watch OBEM now, might freak me out a bit lol, although that birth thing is very very far away!

sid did you tell your folks?

mother what is a LO?!?!?

Ref the grads, I've been reading back on the old threads and in the first elderberry thread I started most of them got their BFP so they kind of graduated before the berries began proper! it's the second generation of berries who are the ones I know and call friends p.s. can we meet up again one day?

jess congrats on the scan, does it feel really real now?!?

As for me, midwife called today, I am seeing her next Friday, scary!!! Will it just be filling in forms?

Yep Bunny lots of forms. And perhaps some bloods. You will def need a wee sample. Make sure you're aware of any hereditary stuff that may be in yours/your OHs family as a lot of q's will be about that.

Blind, I'm not too worried by a planned section as such, would prefer that to a failed induction, instruments and potentially a crash section

bunny I think LO is little one. Like instead of baby.

Nice one about booking in. merk's covered it with what will probably happen. It's quite fun but takes ages.

poppy nice scan news! And baby all lined up ready to go? Cool. Remind us why you're having scans again?

I reckon we'll stick together when our babies come - we'll only talk about sleeping and poo and feeding for a while I guess, but that's what life will be like....?!